Build & Ergonomics

At just 1.3″ (3.3 cm) in length and weighing a mere 3.02 oz (85 g), you might wonder if you’ve forgotten to attach a lens to your camera.

As a comparison, most iPhones released in the last three years are more than twice as heavy!

How Rokinon has managed to produce a lens that packs in autofocus but still feels as light as a feather is very impressive.

The flipside, inevitably, is that this lens does not feel very refined.

Its light weight is a reflection of its low price, and though the plastic shell doesn’t feel cheap, it’s very different to the solidity of one of its nearest competitors — the Sony Zeiss Sonnar T FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA.

As you’d expect, there’s no customisable ring or button, and not even an AF/MF toggle. The focusing ring feels as though it has been dampened, but not in a way that feels satisfying.

The lens cap is tiny and included in the box is a very lightweight lens hood that I’ve never used as I’m not sure what it achieves beyond offering your lens a very small amount of protection against knocks.

Perhaps realising that one of the draws of this lens is that you can just throw it in a bag and forget about it, Rokinon has included a rather cute little protective case.

Its clam-shell design zips closed, making the Rokinon AF 35mm f/2.8 very convenient to pack if you’re not carrying a camera-specific bag.

Image Quality

When it comes to pancake lenses, Canon set the bar fairly high with the sharpness of images produced by the EF 40mm f/2.8 — previously one of my favourite lenses when I was shooting on a Canon EOS 6D.

I was delighted to discover that the Rokinon AF 35mm f/2.8 performs equally well, with sharp images across the whole aperture range.

Corner sharpness drops off when shooting wider than f/4, and the centre becomes a touch softer when fully open at f/2.8. Despite this, image quality is excellent when you consider the size and weight of this lens.

Contrast in the highlights can be lacking at times, and contrast across the image will drop a little when you ask the lens to deal with direct sunlight. Colour fringing is surprisingly minimal, and distortion is well controlled.

Value for Money

At this price point, there is nothing else on the market that offers such good image quality combined with autofocus performance.

If you need something more robust, you can pay a little extra for the Tamron 35mm f/2.8 but autofocus will be noticeably slower.

Your other option might be the Sony FE 35mm f/1.8. You’ll get a lot more lens — remarkable sharpness, great build quality, weather sealing, fast autofocus — but you will also pay almost three times as much.

The Rokinon AF 35mm f/2.8 makes an excellent lens for those wishing to buy their first prime, or perhaps add to an existing nifty fifty without spending too much money.

Obviously the f/2.8 maximum aperture isn’t particularly exciting, but as a walk-around lens for shooting friends and family, or as a street photography lens where you want to be unobtrusive, this lens is a bargain.

Rokinon AF 35mm f/2.8 Review | Conclusion

When it comes to photographing my friends and family, walks in the forest, hikes up a mountain, and shooting on the street, the Rokinon AF 35mm f/2.8 is my lens of choice — assuming it’s not raining.

A weather-sealed version would probably be my perfect day-to-day lens.

As someone who likes to travel extremely light whenever possible, this 35mm lens is an excellent option.

When I’m shooting for work, I add a grip and much bigger glass onto my Sony a7 III, but for casual shooting, I strip it down and my Sony feels almost like a compact camera when the Rokinon 35mm is attached.

For APS-C shooters, this isn’t quite the fast nifty fifty that you might want, but its small size and low price makes it an excellent option if you’re after a prime lens that offers a standard view.